Chapter 1

Neith.

"That's what I'll be known as from now on." 

Neith muttered while looking up at the majestic building masquerading as a place of worship.

Resentment could be seen from her eyes as she was staring at the huge wooden door separating her from the whole other world behind them.

'This whole place and the person on top of it is the reason he's missing.'

They would have to drag her cold corpse if they wanter her to ever step foot in this place if they didn't have what she needs.

'Breathe in, breathe out.' She told herself as she tried to keep calm. 

'You still have a role to play.'

Once she felt that the anger and acrimony has been pushed to the back of her mind, Neith finally took steps towards the door and without much thought, pushed it open.

No one bothered to look at her. After all, the people inside were all busy saying their prayers.

A good thing, she didn't have to worry much about being noticed.

Neith made her way to the second altar from the door. The spot was always empty. People disliked that the lights there were always flickering. It was also dirtier compared to the other places for prayer in the church.

It was made that way to make it inconspicuous.

Neith looked around. People are still occupied with their heads lowered to their clasped hands on the back of the chair before them.

Good.

Neith finally slipped into the hidden space at the side that opened to a long tunnel. At the end of it is a huge metal door. At the side of it was a security device where one's handprint can be identified and a camera above.

She pressed her palm on the device.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 seconds. The device finally turned green and the door started to open slowly.

In the control room, Gaia and Hades were watching the footage of the camera in shock. They weren't expecting anyone today. Well, not yet, at least.

They couldn't see the face of the person as she was wearing a cap and a surgical mask.

The two were busy trying to figure out who it was when the alarm for when someone is allowed entrance suddenly sounded.

Gaia and Hades looked at each other in shock before finally getting up from their seats to check out who the person is. It could be a security breach and they'd be in a world of trouble if the organization gets exposed to their enemies while security was under their responsibility.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck." Hades muttered repeatedly as they ran to the door.

Gaia looked back at him as she tried to find the weapons she has attached to her hip.

"Calm down and be ready."

As they turned the last corner to the door, Neith had just finished removing her mask and cap. Her hair scattered from the movement and time seemed to slow down for Hades as his eyes met Neith's.

The two of them stopped abruptly and weren't able to utter a word.

'How bizarre.' Neith thought as she stared at their almost bewildered faces. She knew they did not know her so she did not understand their reaction.

Not knowing what to do, Neith just bowed and went on her way leaving the two people there standing awkwardly while still looking at where she stood.

After a few seconds, they finally came back to their senses and Hades was the first to speak.

"Wow."

"Who was that?" Hades asked as he turned his head slowly to face Gaia.

"Fuck." Gaia suddenly said.

"What is it? Do you know her?"

Gaia thought on his question and tried to recall if she's seen the woman somewhere.

"No, I don't and we just let her pass. We should report this to our seniors." Feeling dejected, Gaia started to walk into the complex.

Before she could take another step, Gaia felt a hand around her wrist keeping her from moving.

"No, wait."

She looked behind her and saw Hades with a serious face, contemplating.

After two seconds, he finally looked up to Gaia who was hopefully waiting for him to explain a way out.

"We forgot that the information on who enters using the security device gets pulled up on one of the monitors. We should check there first. Maybe we're not in trouble after all."

Gaia finally perked up a bit.

"Right, right."

They made their way back to the security room and immediately went in front of the several monitors used to surveille the area.

While Gaia was looking for that one monitor, Hades suddenly yelled, "There, it's that one there." While pointing to the monitor on the upper right corner.

They both fixed their gazes on it and were dumbfounded.

"What the fuck? How could this be?"

The monitor showed no data. No clue on who the person was or whether she was part of the organization or not.

"It's a breach. Ït's a breach. She must have hacked our system."

Gaia was about to cry.

"We should tell our seniors and start a search for her." She suggested in an obviously resigned tone.

"I'll call Brahma." Hades stated as he whipped out his device and started looking for the name on the list of his contacts.

Over the call, Hades told the man they call Brahma everything that happened. Brahma just said that he'll be coming down to check on the footage and has asked them to look for her through the cameras.

Gaia and Hades did as they were told and started scanning the monitors to see the figure again. Unfortunately, she never showed up. It seems like she knows all the blind spots and purposefully avoided being caught by the cameras. They were now both in a state of panic and partial amazement. The woman came prepared.

When Brahma finally arrived, he showed them both a look of disappointment.

"Tsk, alright, show me what she looks like."

Hades immediately got up and went to one of the controls to pull up the only footage of the woman they had - the one from the camera near the entrance where she happened to take off her covers.

Once her face showed up on the monitor, Brahma became more relaxed and he looked quite... happy? 

Gaia and Hades looked at each other then at Brahma again.

Suddenly, Brahma laughed out loud and held his stomach with his left hand as he tried to retrieve his phone with the other from one of his pockets.

He entered a number and the person on the other line immediately answered the call.

"Call off the search. It's Neith."

When the two other people in the room heard the name, something in their minds immediately clicked.

"Neith?" Hades asked, trying to confirm if he heard it correctly.

"Our classmate, Neith?" Gaia added.

Brahma laughed again before confirming with a nod.

While they were in their state of bewilderment, Brahma suddenly stopped laughing and stared at them seriously.

"Do better in your jobs next time. You suspected a person to be an intruder and didn't even take her in for questioning. What's worse is you let her run around for a while before calling a senior."

Gaia and Hades just lowered their heads. They know it's no excuse, but the past month has been so uneventful for them that their guards gradually went down.

"Get out of here. I'll have someone replace you two." Brahma ordered.

They didn't argue anymore and just exited the room.

Gaia expected that Hades would be down just like she is, but the fool was smiling from ear to ear.

"What's up with you?" She asked with one of her eyebrows raised.

Hades felt giddy as he remembered Neith's face and the fact that they'll be working together.

"I have to find Tyr."